El General
Natalia Almada
USA/Mexico, Documentary, 2009
83 min, Video, Color
Spanish with English subtitles
Past and present collide as filmmaker Natalia Almada brings to life audio recordings she inherited from her grandmother—reminiscences about Natalia’s great-grandfather General Plutarco Elías Calles, a revolutionary general who became president of Mexico in 1924. In his time, Calles was called “El Bolshevique” and “El Jefe Máximo” (the foremost chief). 
Today, he is remembered as “el Quema-Curas” (the Burner of Priests) and as a dictator who ruled through puppet presidents until he was exiled in 1936. Through his daughter’s recordings, El General moves between the memories of a daughter grappling with her memory of her family life versus history’s portrait of her father, and the weight of his legacy in the country today.
http://www.altamurafilms.com/elgeneral.html
Regal Metropolitan, Thursday April 23, 6 PM
Regal Metropolitan, Sunday April 26, 12 Noon
Natalia Almada’s directing credits include All Water Has a Perfect Memory, an experimental short film that received international recognition, and Al otro lado, her award winning debut feature documentary about immigration, drug trafficking and corrido music. Almada’s work has screened at Sundance, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Biennial, as well as at several film festivals around the world, universities, conferences and as television broadcasts including PBS.
Producer: Daniela Alatorre, Natalia Almada
Screenwriter: Natalia Almada
Cinematographer: Chuy Chavez
Editor: Natalia Almada, Shannon Kennedy
Music: John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Shahzad Ismaily
